When it comes to saving files nowadays, we have several options ranging from good ol’ flash drives and discs to cloud storage. However, let’s face it. How many pocket-sized USB devices have you lost in the past, leaving you no choice but to go buy another? This was the premise behind the world’s first storage wristband.
Created by the Bean Beam team, Pinto aspires to modify the way people think about storing their files safely. The device itself is a waterproof Bluetooth-enabled wristband, that’s both comfortable and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. What’s more, the wearable has no USB plug, port or other annoyances, allowing it to converge each of the good qualities of cloud storage and flash drives — nothing more.
“This is a something we have dedicated a huge amount of time to and that we feel incredibly passionate about,” a company rep explained. “Pinto is truly a better and more secure way of storing important files. It can be kept on the wrist 24 hours a day. How much more secure can something get? The technology is very exciting and we think people are going to really love Pinto, for all the best reasons.”
According to Bean Beam, the one-size-fits-all band was designed to be a “true wearable” in the sense that it can literally be worn 24 hours a day if its owner desired to, from the bedroom, to work, to play and back home again. Aside from being able to walk to class on a rainy day, go into the shower or swim a couple of laps in the pool, the robust device also charges wirelessly, meaning it can refuel without ever leaving your arm.
Charging can be accomplished in one of two ways, either through what the company calls a “Charging CAP” or “Charging PAD.” The CAP is a round adapter that magnetizes on the bottom of Pinto’s rubber band, whereas the PAD can be placed alongside a keyboard or laptop allowing a wearer to rest their wrist on its comfortable silicone layer.
How it works is simple. The device is clasped onto the wrist of a user. Bluetooth technology allows files on Pinto to be accessed anywhere and everywhere, and operates at the touch of a single button. Equipped with LEDs, the wristband will emit a white light to indicate that the power is on, green that operation is idle, and blue that an incoming connection is pending approval. Pinto currently comes in both 32GB and 64GB of storage for you to jam-pack with all of your latest white papers, projects and documents. And, all files stored on it are password protected, so there’s no need to worry if somehow misplaced.
At its core lies an Cortex-M4-based MCU; however, in its earliest testing stages, the team tells us that they prototyped using an Atmel | SMART SAM3X8E. We will wait and see what the future holds as this wearable is brought to market!
Interested in wearing your files on your wrist? You’ll want to hurry over to its official Indiegogo page, where the team is currently seeking $190,000.
This blog was originally shared on Atmel Bits & Pieces.